The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-05
JAW-BREAKING NAMES.
They Sound Better Than They Look,
but there is Room for Improvement.
From the MiIroaukee Sentinel

but there is Room for Improvement.
From the MIiouukee Sentinel
The trial of half a dozen Bay View rioters
this week, all of whom, except one, have
names which are, as printed, almost unpro-
nounceable: has set many persons to won
dering how these people get along without
getting badly mixed up. A well educated
POlander, i'll speaking of the matter, says
that in many cases these alphabetical COM
binations, although at first sight
meant nothing and represented less,
were quite easy to decipher when
once person has the key to the matter:
1--WE often get confused ourselves in the
pronunciation of some of the names This
is especially so with those of us who have
secured good educations in English, and in
writing the name of Mr. Wawrzyniakowsl1i
we are quite apt to spell it Wauzymakowski,
for that is the literal way. Now, il | was
to write il out as il is pronounced in Eng
lish--as it should belt would be in this
way" aud the son of Kosciusko took pen
Gil and paper and scratched it off like this:
wAU-ZE-NA-KoF-SKY
Wawrzyniakowslk)
"Now thatname" he added, as he handed
it over to the reporter, lis about the worst
one | know Of Yet there are a great many
others which look fully as bad and which
require as great an effort for the English
speaking people to twist around their
tongues. We have man on the police
force--Officer NiezerowsEi. That isn't
very bad but very few pronounce it as it
should be-Ne- zo-rowslly. Coroner Ger
winski's name is sy-'Cher-winsky.
The gentleman said that 'our own Theo-
dore Rudziuski's" name was Roo-jin-sky,
and that Mr. Sokolowsli, of Mitchell street,
would answer TO Socko-lof-sky.
To-.
riot, thinks there is nothing hard about his
name. After it is reduced little it looks
this way: "Skip-ni- jin-sky."
A Second avenue man, whose name is
selected from the part of the alphabet used
the least by the English, is quite smooth
after the rough corners are whitfield off. He
writes it Strzyzewski, but the reporters in
formant said it was pronounced 'Stretch-e-
ne-off-s "" A Second avenue molder in
herits the name of Szczepankrewicz, which,
when hauled over a little is "Che-che-pa-
no-off-sky.n Ex-Alderman Hanizeski is
simply Honey sky" when his friends
talk to him
A Fifth avenue man has sign in front of
his house Wjththe following on it:
LEON tiSZOYOCZYUSKI,
,tiIidBo9t 81 Shoemaker.
People from the Seventh ward, when
strolling that way, look at the sign and gasp
for breatharfTh hey wouldn't do it, though, If
they knewit Massmply Leon Soo-zin-slxi."
Mary Rozmarynoowski is dressmaker at
1853 Fifth9gayenue, and everyone in the
neighboifhoedr will tell you that it is simply
Mary Res- fnare-nof-sky. A laborer living
at S34 Seventh avenue, who may some day
be Coroner or a member of the council,
sports the name of Wojciech Wesolowski.
Mr.. Wesolowski's given name, when
translated, is George, but still it is pro-
nounced "Wi-zow-ick." Joseph Wojcir-
chow-slli, Second avenue tailor, spells his
name ''Wi-se-chow-ski,n when he spells it.
Mr.. John Wylzrzyk is laborer, and lives
on Garden street, and, although his name
looks like a iaw-brealser, it is nothing of the
kind. A friend of his says it is Vick-crick.
A Brady street laborer, by the name of
Kazimur Zdrojewsh, is sat home" to plain
Cashmere Iro-yuf-sky."
The puzzling condition of the tongue
when person who is unfapiiar with these
names is occasioned by the placing together
by the PolGnders of two letters which
answer the purpose of one. For example,
'dz" produces the same sound as "gn CT the
same as &c" and 81 the same as IS" except
that the recommendation is more emphatic
or longer when these letters are thrown side
by side in Il name Where "aZ" is used the
sound produced is "eng" There are three
recommendations for the letters IL it requires
emphasis, the Polander will first write the
letter and then place beside it, The
soft use of the letter is indicated thus S,
while the ordinary use is S.